Total Nerd 15 Reasons Commissioner Gordon Is Terrible at His Job

Jim Gordon might be one of the worst characters in the DC mythos. Before you get your Batman underoos in a bunch, think about it. He somehow rose to one of the highest positions in the Gotham police force by barely his doing job. In fact, he mostly lucked out because everyone who was his superior got blown up.

Instead of referring to him as Commissioner Gordon, we should just be calling him, Jim Gordon Gotham Resident. As of issue 41 of Batman, written by Scott Snyder, Gordon has found a new way to shirk his responsibilities by dallying around in a mech suit and calling himself Batman 2.0. What lengths won’t this guy go to in order to avoid being a cop? To read about even more of Gordon’s questionable decisions, follow along as we count down all of the reasons Commissioner Gordon is bad at his job.

Not only has Commissioner Gordon had multiple chances to take out bad guys like Joker and Two-Face only to pass them up because of an archaic moral code that doesn’t apply to people once they have half a face and are trying to ransom the moon, but he’s also a terrible detective. The guy’s been working with Batman for decades and still hasn’t figured out that he’s Bruce Wayne. That's on the list, so you can vote on it. Vote up the worst moments of Commissioner Gordon that prove that he’s terrible at his job, and if you remember any major missteps that Jimmy G has made, tell us in the comments.

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Gordon Can't Figure Out That Bruce Wayne Is Batman

Photo: via Wikimedia Gordon: a detective who can't detect the most obvious fact in Gotham. Depending on which continuity you're following, Commissioner Gordon has never put together that Bruce Wayne is Batman. And guy, a lot of people know who Batman is.

He's Taken Hostage All the Time

Photo: via Reddit If you're a bad guy in Gotham City, why not take Commissioner Gordon hostage? Seriously, it happened four times in two seasons of Batman: The Animated Series, and at least once in the Cataclysm storyline. It's like Gordon doesn't even lock his doors at night.

He Teams with Bane to Kill Batman

Photo: via Imgur After seeing his daughter fall to her death in The New Batman Adventures, Gordon decides to enlist Bane in getting revenge on Batman for making her be a bat person? Or something like that? It's confusing. If he really wanted revenge, he should have just arrested Batman and put him in Arkham, where he arguably belongs.

He Doesn't Kill the Joker When He Has the Chance

Photo: via Reddit As commissioner, Gordon is basically King Cop of Gotham and his job is to serve and protect. The Joker is arguably the most dangerous character in the Batverse, having killed hundreds if not thousands of the Gothamites Gordon's supposed to serve and protect. In the No Man's Land series, when Gordon has a chance to kill the Joker, he doesn't do it. Instead he chooses to shoot Joker in the knee. We all know know a set of crutches aren't going to keep the Joker from busting out of Arkham and killing yet more innocent people.